The Dallas County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday morning.
At the meeting, payroll change notices were approved for the County Attorney’s office and dispatch center. The Emergency Medical Services union waiver of timeline was then approved. The County plans to meet with the union on Thursday to work on negotiating.
Several certificates of appreciation were then awarded for service milestones ranging from five to twenty-five years.
The Board then heard an Iowa Communities Assurance Pool update from Bob Lippold. This year’s premium is going up less than one percent over last year. The current liability limit is $5 million, as it has been for several years. The net premium for 2015 is $294,595. Lippold said Dallas County has not had a property claim for some time and he said ICAP is pleased with the agreement. The repurposing of the old County Home which will soon be the Human Services building was then discussed as well and Lippold said it will likely change the premiums moving forward. He will be getting a copy of plans from the Board to review. Following the update, the Supervisors approved renewal of the plan for 2015.
A public hearing was then set for 9:30am on Tuesday February 3rd in regards to the EMS department’s contract with Verizon.
Next a public hearing was held in regards to amendments and appropriations of the fiscal year 2014 and 2015 budget. Operations Administrator Connie Kinnard said the majority of the amendment is carryover from fiscal year 2014. The amendment does not increase taxes in the County. Following no comments from the public, the Supervisors approved the resolution.
Doug Jones, Jon West, Steve Faven, Bill Knoll, Tom Barrett, Jerry Spellman, Greg Johnson, Jack Chance, Bill Sparks and Alan Suckow were then appointed to the Eminent Domain Commission for one-year terms.
Fiscal year 2015-2016 budget fund requests were then discussed. The Library Association talked about their two new events this past year with Toddler Fest and the Dallas County Reads One Book program. This year they hope to continue to grow in community events and collaborative efforts. They’re asking for a slight increase in the upcoming fiscal year. The Association also challenged the Supervisors to get involved with the Toddler Fest program, saying that the Greene County Supervisors hand out cookies at their event and they feel it would be good for the Board to participate.
The fair board then shared information on their request, recapping the past year and 2014 fair. Board member Dave Felt said they had record attendance at some events and overall it went really well. The board is in a maintenance phase where they’re working to up keep the current facilities. Other highlights mentioned include the Toddler Fest, hosting the regional Extension office, serving as a venue for wedding receptions, graduations and family reunions, as well as serving as the public health home in case they needed extra space during an emergency epidemic. They requested the same funding be approved as previous years but stated that if there is additional money available they have several projects they’d like to complete.
The Dallas County Development Alliance was next to share their budget request. President Butch Niebuhr and Linda Wunch were in attendance to share their update. Niebuhr said it has been great to have Supervisor Mark Hanson as an active member on the board. Their request for this year is $150,000, which is equal to what was approved in the past before being cut back in recent years. Niebuhr also mentioned they hope to be able to fund some additional marketing efforts to promote what they do. Wunch said they’re working hard on certified sites in Perry and hopefully another in Woodward and want to be able to share their story with others through marketing.
Discover Dallas County then approached the Board to share information on their request. Pere Malmberg with Dallas County Conservation spoke on their behalf. He said all of the museums in the County, with the exception of the Bob Feller baseball museum that has closed, have done really well lately, with record attendance at the Forest Park Museum in 2014. He says the goal is to encourage people to spend money in the County and promote the various tourism options. They’re asking for the usual amount of $7,500 this year, to be able to print and distribute the tourism guide throughout the County.
The final scheduled budget request of the day was supposed to come from the Housing Trust Fund Authority, though no one was in attendance to approach the board.
Following a short break, the Supervisors then held a sheriff’s office facilities and equipment workshop. Sheriff Chad Leonard encouraged the Supervisors to attend Tuesday night’s E911 meeting which was to include a presentation on possible future directions for communications in the County, including the future of the two dispatch centers in Perry and Adel. He plans to bring additional numbers to the Supervisors during their scheduled budget request meeting on Friday. Leonard said he will likely come to the Supervisors and ask them to bond for the cost of communications upgrades, though specific numbers are not known at this time. If the County doesn’t approve going out for a bond, Leonard says they will have to triage the project and spend a lot more time rolling it out in phases, which raises concerns of equipment being out of date by the time the project gets fully completed. All equipment purchased now is moveable and will go with the Sheriff’s office and dispatch center if/when they have a new facility. Board Chairman Brad Golightly said they are close to having a new sheriff’s office facility, jail and dispatch center so he wonders if it is best to wait until the move happens before purchasing new equipment. Supervisor Kim Chapman says the Sheriff’s office’s operation is critical to the taxpayers in Dallas County and he wants to expedite the process to get them the things they need to keep residents safe. Waukee also plans to move their dispatch service to WestComm in the metro area, which will mean less funding for the rest of the County. Sheriff Leonard also mentioned that they hope to move their civil department downstairs of the current facility to give them more space to conduct business. Finally, Leonard talked about the need for courthouse security upgrades, which is estimated at a cost of around $6,000 for panic buttons, cameras, weapon lock boxes and other equipment.
The afternoon continued with additional budget workshops for the community services/case management department, recorder’s office and secondary roads department.